Boletín de aludes

Snoqualmie Pass

Northwest Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Mon
Alta montaña
2 · Moderado
Límite del bosque
2 · Moderado
Bajo el límite
1 · Débil
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 8 months ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

In higher more open terrain, blowing snow could form fresh slabs on the downwind side of features. Be leery of snow that looks deeper, fat, or pillow-like in these areas. At lower elevations, a thick ice crust makes travel challenging and sometimes dangerous.

Problemas de aludes

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Possible
    Tamaño
    1–1.5

    We should be dealing with a fresh round of wind slabs on Sunday. They might even be forming right in front of your face and getting deeper as the day continues. Often, these avalanches are easier to trigger when they are new, but they’re also simpler to spot. Don’t overlook the snow literally hitting you in the face. Blowing snow can show you local wind patterns and which features are being loaded. Sharp drifts or wind lips also point towards these new slabs. 

    You’ll not only see wind slabs forming along ridges, but also developing in the tops of chutes, near the base of cliffs, and even on exposed mid-slope features. If the slabs are soft, you can use small slopes to test them and note if they crack or fail. However, if they are firm or feel hollow, don’t trust them and give them a very wide berth. 

    Fortunately, these avalanches should be relatively small and shallow. They should only entail the new snow over the uppermost crust/wet layer in the snowpack.

    (1/3/2026)

    Blowing snow near ridgelines was a good clue wind loaded slopes were near by. 

    Photo: Dallas Glass

Avalanche Discussion

Well, it’s snowing. That’s good news… or at least mostly snowing. The snowlevels in the Pass have been quite complex the past several days. While we’re on a general cooling trend, things could still be messy on Sunday. At Pass level, there’s a chance for rain, snow, or the dreaded freezing rain. Let’s hope no more of the latter. 

On New Years Day, a freezing rain event left the lower elevations around the Pass plastered in a thick layer of ice. Observations suggest this icy crust reaches at least 4500ft. While this has all but eliminated any avalanche issues, it’s undoubtedly made travel a challenge. Add to that the laundry list of early season hazards that just won’t go away, and you have all the makings of, at best, tricky and, at worst, dangerous travel conditions. We’ll need some real snow to bury this nasty layer. 

At higher elevations, warmer temperatures brought rain to at least the top of Alpental (5500ft). This wet snow will start to form a new crust. It may be firm and supportable, or soft and punchy on Sunday. It’s hard to say. The stormy weather has limited travel at the highest elevations. So, we honestly don’t know how high the rain reached. Maybe, at the tippy tops of the tallest peaks it’s been all snow. If so, this could result in very different conditions and bigger avalanches than forecasted.

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